Chapter 513 - 353: Darknet Meeting, News of Jian Yi

Chapter 513: Chapter 353: Darknet Meeting, News of Jian Yi

Deep in the dark web, a silent torrent of data surged, forming the bedrock of this virtual world.

Here, there were no dazzling neon lights, no tangible structures—only endless fragments of code and information, colliding, annihilating, and re-forming at speeds that transcended reality.

At this moment, two vague blurs of light and shadow were facing off in this wasteland of data.

One was an abstract butterfly, composed of countless precise, faintly glowing two-dimensional lines.

With every subtle flutter of its wings, it seemed to alter the fundamental rules of the entire data ocean.

The other was a more chaotic, humanoid silhouette that looked as if it could dissipate at any moment, exuding an ancient and dangerous aura.

It was Old K’s network projection.

"Old K." The butterfly’s voice didn’t travel on sound waves; it was a direct vibration in the data stream itself, resonating with an undeniable authority. "You’ve crossed a line."

The blurry humanoid silhouette let out a low, cold laugh that sounded like static interference. "Crossed a line? Butterfly, don’t forget, I helped build this dark web. I have my own ’stake’ here, so how could I possibly be crossing a line?"

The butterfly’s linear wings paused for a moment. It seemed unwilling to dwell on the matter.

"Who queried ’Yan Shu’?"

Old K’s silhouette flickered. He didn’t answer directly, his tone laced with mockery. "What’s the matter? Can’t your watchdog handle something so small? Does it require you, the high and mighty ’god,’ to personally condescend to hunt down a little mouse?"

"To go so far as to intervene personally, erasing his tracks and even resisting my trace... It seems you hold this ’little mouse’ in high regard." The butterfly’s voice remained steady, but the light edging its linear wings seemed to sharpen.

"Not at all." Old K’s data stream stabilized, radiating a cold resolve. "I’m simply doing my duty as an information broker. I was paid, so naturally, I must guarantee my client’s basic security and privacy. Nothing more."

"Principles?" The butterfly sounded as if it had heard something amusing. Its two-dimensional body gave a slight "tremble." "Well then, I hope you can maintain them."

The moment it finished speaking, the massive, linear butterfly collapsed without warning, dissolving into countless fine data streams that merged with the surrounding torrent of information and vanished without a trace.

She had logged out of this deep sector of the web.

"Damn it..." A low curse echoed through the data stream. Then, the silhouette also rapidly dissipated, logging out of the deep web.

「Hive Apartment, Top Floor.」

Old K violently "jacked out" of his connection to the console. The muscles on the remaining half of his face twitched, and his electronic eye pulsed with a frantic red light. He gasped for breath, as if he had just endured a high-intensity physical brawl.

"That crazy bitch..." he growled, his expression dark and uncertain.

Butterfly’s last words seemed casual, but they held an undisguised threat. ’She’s already targeting the one who made the query... and by extension, she’s targeting me, the accomplice.’

Though he’d complained about it more than once, Old K couldn’t help but mutter, "Kid, you really know how to fucking drag me into trouble. I really took a huge loss on this one."

Old K couldn’t help but wince at the thought of the price he would have to pay to deal with that lunatic, Butterfly.

...

「Black Tile Inn.」

By the time Wu Liangchen pushed open the creaking main door, it was already late at night.

Only a few dim lights were lit in the lobby.

The proprietor, Liangzi, was sunk into his custom-made, throne-like chair, his massive frame practically swallowing it. His eyes were closed, feigning sleep.

At the sound of the door opening, Liangzi’s eyelids twitched. He cracked one open, saw it was Wu Liangchen, and didn’t bother to get up. He just mumbled, "Back, are you? Thought you’d run off to dig in some black-market mine again."

Wu Liangchen ignored the jibe and headed straight for the stairs, ready to return to his room and rest.

"Wait," Liangzi suddenly called out.

Wu Liangchen stopped and looked back.

Liangzi sat up a little straighter. For once, the usual lazy, calculating look was gone from his pudgy face. He pointed toward the door. "Someone’s looking for you. Waiting out at the entrance to the alley."

’Someone’s looking for me?’

Wu Liangchen’s brow furrowed. ’I’ve only just arrived in Zhongjing. Besides Old K, Liangzi, and Jie Nian, whom I met by chance, I don’t know anyone. Song Ling’Er is resting upstairs, so who could it be?’

Puzzled, Wu Liangchen left the inn and went to the mouth of the dimly lit, trash-strewn alley outside.

A familiar figure was huddled in the shadows of a corner, craning his neck and looking around nervously. It was "Black Dog," the bald, burly man Wu Liangchen had effortlessly put in his place a few days ago.

When he saw Wu Liangchen emerge, Black Dog’s expression was a complicated mix of someone seeing their savior and someone seeing the King of the Underworld. Still, he braced himself and hurried over, bowing and scraping with an extremely deferential posture.

"Boss!" Black Dog’s voice was laced with obvious tension and a hint of sycophancy. "You’re... you’re back!"

"What is it?" Wu Liangchen’s tone was level. As his gaze swept over the man, an invisible pressure caused fine beads of sweat to break out on Black Dog’s forehead.

"There’s... there’s something," Black Dog stammered, wringing his hands. "I thought you might be interested, so I rushed over to report it to you."

"Speak."

"It’s like this," Black Dog said, lowering his voice, a hint of excitement on his face. "A real powerhouse just showed up in the city recently, stirring up trouble for the Apex Group everywhere. I heard he’s already killed a bunch of their people. And then, just yesterday..."